This invention relates to an asparagus harvester.
Asparagus farming is localized into various areas scattered across the continent. Its methods and problems are unique. The crop is normally picked manually and sold by farmers to local processing plants upon whom the farmers are highly dependent.
Because manual harvesting of asparagus constitutes a slow process that necessitates repeat picking of a field every second or third day to prevent the crop becoming overly mature, successful harvesting of large acreages is dependent upon a large and immediately available labor supply. Unfortunately, asparagus harvesters are not always blessed with such a labor supply. Consequently, a variety of asparagus harvesting machines have been proposed heretofore, and a few have been developed and put into operation. Of those machines that have been used, some were capable of harvesting a crop but there have been problems. Specifically, those machines simple enough to be dependable in operation tend to damage the asparagus and also to collect grass, weeds, dirt, etc., along with the crop. Consequently, processors to whom the farmer must normally sell his crop have been reluctant, and usually unwilling, to accept the crop. If so rejected, the crop is almost worthless to the farmer. Those machines which have been built to grip individual stalks so as to harvest without stalk damage and weeds etc. are so complex, particularly as to sensing, gripping and picking mechanisms, that maintenance is unreasonable and dependability is low. This is a particularly troublesome problem in that equipment dealers and service shops are not normally available for such specialized equipment.
Consequently, there has been a need for an asparagus harvesting machine which would be simple in construction, readily repairable with basically conventional parts, dependable, capable of harvesting asparagus over variable terrain, and capable of harvesting asparagus in fields containing grass, weeds, etc. without such being gathered with the asparagus stalks, to produce a crop acceptable to processors because possessing a quality basically comparable to manually harvested asparagus.